Archived News:

Friday, Jun 29, 2012

Sony Online Entertainment announces registration is now underway for SOE Live, the gathering formerly known as the Sony Fan Faire. The event is this October in Las Vegas, and those who sign up between now and August 1 will get in at a $20.00 discount off the regular $139.00 entrance price, and they are also offering individual day and evening passes. Here's word on what the event will offer:

Robot Entertainment announces a Windows version of Hero Academy, saying the mobile strategy game will arrive on Steam on August 8th, and will bring with it an exclusive team from Team Fortress 2, and can also unlock an items within the teamplay shooter. This new trailer teases the new features, and here's word:

Robot Entertainment has announced that their critically acclaimed mobile strategy game, Hero Academy, is coming to Steam on August 8, 2012. Players who purchase the game on Steam will unlock an exclusive new heroic team featuring the mercenaries from Valve Corporation’s wildly popular Team Fortress 2. Additionally, each heroic expansion team purchased in Hero Academy on Steam will unlock a unique item in Team Fortress 2.

Blending classic tactics gaming with the fast-paced action of modern casual titles, Hero Academy delivers tense one-on-one battles with quick bursts of gameplay. The balance of power can shift in a single turn, and victory requires a carefully crafted strategy. Deploy different character classes, defend your turf with countermeasures, and with the placement of a few special items, you’ll conquer your opponent.

AMD Support & Drivers now offers new version 12.6 Catalyst reference drivers for AMD/ATI graphics cards as well as beta version 12.7 drivers. Here's word: "AMD Catalyst 12.6 represents a significant milestone in AMD’s driver development and planning. The list of resolved issues at the end of this email is certainly representative of our continued investment in quality, but it’s symbolic of a deeper systemic change. The truth is that our new driver cadence—releasing drivers as needed—gives us tremendous flexibility to provide releases that are worth upgrading to. By this I mean that you’ll begin to see meatier updates, with a single driver containing a number of fixes and enhancements that could have been deployed over several releases with our old schedule. "

Clint Hocking's blog announces the developer has parted ways with LucasArts, where he had been the most visible face of the company's game development efforts (thanks MCV). Word is he's already landed at a new undisclosed gig:

I recently left my job at LucasArts and am moving on to something new. Unlike last time, (and mercifully less wordy) I already have something lined up and I am currently in the process of dealing with the living hell of relocation.

I will let the world know where I am going once I get there. Unless you already know.

Activision announces one of the movie inspired missions in their upcoming James Bond game 007 Legends will be based on the events in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, allowing everyone to live their dream of being George Lazenby: Continue here to read the full story.

Origin now offers Hoodwink, a PC puzzle/adventure game from indie developer E-One Studio. Here's word on the game: "Set across the sprawling sectors of Global-01, Hoodwink features the ramshackle and ingenious underbelly of a society ruled by the world's last corporation. A twisted future with absurdly dark humor, Hoodwink reveals an insane world with vile conspiracy and corporate-themed satire, making the brightest dystopia you've ever seen, all to the catchy beats composed by the award-winning Leon Willett."

We have one of those in-between holiday situations here in the U.S., as this Wednesday is Independence Day, perfectly splitting the gap between the weekends to create uncertainty about when the occasion is being celebrated, which shows a problem with a holiday that's alternatively known as "The Fourth of July," since that makes it awkward to move to a Monday for one of those three-day weekend dealies. So it's hard to say if this will make for a slow news day, but I am guessing it will. It's also hard to say when to expect the fireworks that Hudson the wonder dog hates so much to begin, but its unrealistic to hope there won't be any, so we'll just have to batten down the hatches. Whatever that means.